No Shame In Second

Marlins' Ramirez Runner-up To St. Louis' Pujols In Nl Mvp Race

Considering who finished ahead of him, chances are Hanley Ramirez doesn't mind being the best of the rest in the National League Most Valuable Player balloting.

Tuesday, Ramirez learned of his runner-up finish behind back-to-back and three-time recipient Albert Pujols, who became the sixth National League player to win unanimously and 15th in the majors all time. With 233 points, the most accrued by a Marlin in an MVP race, Ramirez finished ahead of Ryan Howard (217), Prince Fielder (203) and Troy Tulowitzki (172).

The NL batting champion, Ramirez received 15 of 32 second-place votes and was among the top five on 11 other ballots. Before this season, Miguel Cabrera had the best MVP showing in franchise history, finishing fifth in both 2005 and 2006 with 146 and 170 points, respectively.

"Hanley is certainly deserving of being among the top vote-getters this year," Marlins President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said in a statement. "He is one of the premier young talents in the game and should be an MVP candidate for years to come."

Ramirez's .342 average was the highest by a major league shortstop to win a batting title, topping Michael Young's .331 mark in 2005. Last season also saw Ramirez reach the 100-homer plateau in just his fourth year. Among shortstops, only Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Ernie Banks achieved the milestone in fewer games.

Outside of batting average, Ramirez didn't finish ahead of Pujols in many other categories. He did pace the league in a few splits, including batting average against right-handers (.352) and road batting average (.353). Ramirez, who turns 26 next month, also finished tied with Braves counterpart Yunel Escobar for highest batting average with runners in scoring position (.373).

Ramirez is traveling in his native Dominican Republic and could not be reached for comment. The last weekend of the regular season, he said: "When you start spring training you never think this year I'm going to win the home run title or triple crown or MVP. The only thing you can do is play hard and help your team get to the playoffs. I feel proud [of the batting title] because it's for the Florida Marlins, not just for me."

The only other Marlin listed on the MVP ballot was Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, who received a point for a 10th-place vote. This is the seventh time in 17 seasons multiple Marlins players have been named on the MVP ballot.

Juan C. Rodriguez can be reached at jcrodriguez@SunSentinel.com

HOW MARLINS HAVE FARED

Player Year Points Finish

Hanley Ramirez 2009 233 Second

Miguel Cabrera 2006 170 Fifth

Miguel Cabrera 2005 146 Fifth

Gary Sheffield 1996 112 t-Sixth

Carlos Delgado 2005 84 Sixth

Moises Alou 1997 60 10th

Hanley Ramirez 2007 49 10th

Juan Pierre 2003 39 10th

Hanley Ramirez 2008 55 11th

Dontrelle Willis 2005 42 11th

NL MVP VOTING

First-, second- and third-place votes and total points based on a 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis: